The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
WHO director says Gaza health system ‘on its knees,’ backs UN chief’s call for ceasefire
The health system in the Gaza Strip is “on its knees” and nearing total collapse, says the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In a tweet expressing support for UN chief Antonio Guterres’ calls for a ceasefire, Ghebreyesus says Gaza’s health system, run by terror group Hamas, is “on its knees and near total collapse. We need peace for health.”
Guterres raised Israel’s ire today (Wednesday) after he invoked a rare clause in the UN charter in a letter to the UN Security Council calling for action on Gaza.
I support Secretary-General @antonioguterres' letter to the @UN Security Council, invoking Article 99 and appealing for a ceasefire. #Gaza's health system is on its knees and near total collapse. We need peace for health. https://t.co/PsZuAANKYq
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 6, 2023
Arab nations ready draft Security Council resolution calling for Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Arab nations at the United Nations are fine-tuning a proposed UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the two-month Israeli-Gaza war.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said Wednesday that it’s essential that the UN’s most powerful body demand a halt to the war following the resumption of fighting in Gaza after the end of a weeklong humanitarian truce on December 1.
Surrounded by members of the 22-nation Arab Group, Mansour also told reporters that a ministerial delegation from Arab nations and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation headed by Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister will be in Washington on Thursday to meet with US officials.
“On top of the agenda is this war has to stop,” he said. “A ceasefire has to take place and it has to take place immediately.”
Mansour said the national security adviser to US Vice President Kamala Harris contacted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday morning and that Abbas pressed for an immediate ceasefire and more humanitarian aid.
The US, Israel’s closest ally, has veto power in the Security Council and has not supported a ceasefire.
On Tuesday, US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters that the role of the Security Council in the Israeli-Hamas war “is not to get in the way of this important diplomacy going on on the ground … because we have seen some results, although not as great results as we want to see.”
A Security Council resolution at this time, he said, “would not be useful.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Putin hails ‘friendly relations’ on rare visits to Saudi Arabia, UAE
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Saudi Arabia today after visiting the United Arab Emirates, making a rare trip abroad as Moscow seeks to reassert itself on the global stage.
It is only the third trip the Russian leader has taken since he invaded Ukraine, following visits to Iran and China, and comes as Moscow seeks to bolster its influence in the Middle East.
Putin was seen greeting the country’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, before the two briefly sat down for televised talks.
“Nothing can prevent the development of our friendly relations,” Putin told the crow prince, inviting the Saudi royal to visit Moscow.
“It is very important for all of us to exchange information and assessments with you on what is happening in the region. Our meeting is certainly timely,” Putin said.
Prince Mohammed said bilateral cooperation had “helped remove many tensions in the Middle East and contributed to enhancing security” — and would continue to do so in the future.
The Kremlin said ahead of the meeting that the two would discuss oil markets, as well as ways to promote de-escalation in the war in Gaza.
Since March, Putin has been wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court over the invasion of Ukraine. He skipped the BRICS summit in August in South Africa, which recognizes the ICC, to avoid causing a “political show”, and missed the G20 summit in India in September.
But neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia have signed the ICC’s founding treaty, meaning they are not obliged to arrest him.
The Russian leader was earlier welcomed with a full cavalry escort and motorcade in the UAE, where he met President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
A national air show team drew a Russian flag with colored fumes in the sky.
“Today, thanks to your posture, our relations have reached unprecedented levels,” Putin told his counterpart at the presidential palace, saying the UAE was “Russia’s main trading partner in the Arab world”.
Bilateral trade hit a record $9 billion last year, according to the Kremlin, and Putin said “a number of projects” were underway in the oil and gas sector.
The UAE is currently hosting the COP28 UN climate talks, but the Kremlin did not specify whether Putin attended any related events.
Putin is next set to host Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for talks in Moscow on Thursday, as the two countries strengthen economic and military ties in the face of Western sanctions.
Riyadh urges restraint in US response to Iran-backed Houthi attacks in Red Sea — report
Saudi Arabia has urged the United States to show restraint in responding to continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, Reuters reports.
Two sources familiar with Riyadh’s messaging say the kingdom is seeking to limit spillover from Israel’s war against Hamas following the terror group’s October 7 massacres in southern Israel.
This week, an hours-long missile assault by the Houthis on three commercial vessels in the Red Sea marked a significant escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
A US warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the assault Sunday, the US military said. A day later, the US said it may establish a naval task force to escort commercial ships in the Red Sea
The Houthis have also fired several ballistic missiles and drones at Israel’s southern city of Eilat since the beginning of the war in October, including earlier today (Wednesday). All such attacks were intercepted or missed their targets.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swaths of the country, are “part of the axis of resistance” against Israel along with Hamas — which is also sponsored by Tehran.
Senate Republicans block Ukraine, Israel aid from advancing amid demands for border policy changes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans block the advance of a $110 billion package of wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities as they tried to force President Joe Biden to include changes to US border policy.
The vote, a 49-51 tally that fell short of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for moving ahead, came just hours after Biden said it was “stunning” that Congress has not yet approved tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance for Ukraine. His administration warned of dire consequences for Kyiv — and a “gift” to Russia’s Vladimir Putin — if lawmakers don’t act.
Speaking at the White House, Biden said Republicans who are insisting on border policy changes as a condition for voting for the aid “are playing chicken with our national security,” even as he expressed openness to some policy changes.
“Republicans in Congress are willing to give Putin the greatest gift he could hope for,” Biden said, saying American credibility was on the line both with other would-be aggressors and with its allies. “Any disruption in our ability to supply Ukraine clearly strengthens Putin’s position.”
“If we don’t support Ukraine, what is the rest of the world going to do?” he added.
Biden’s address comes hours after he huddled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democracies, which have staunchly supported Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Biden has asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to fund the wars in Ukraine, Israel and other security needs, but has faced stiff resistance on Capitol Hill. Some Republicans have grown tired of providing support to Ukraine after the US has already sent $111 billion, and other GOP lawmakers are insisting on stiff changes to US border policy as a condition of voting for the measure.
Biden said he supports more funding for border security. “I am willing to make significant compromises on the border,” he said. “We need to fix the broken border system. It is broken.” He added that he’s ”ready to change policy as well,” but accused Republicans of wanting a political issue more than bipartisan compromise.